Sewing cabinet



June 4, 1940- A. x. AEKsTRoM SEWING CABINET Filed Sept. 1, 1938 PatentedJune 4, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEWING CABINET A. Ivar Ekstrom,Rockford, Ill.

Application September Claims.

This invention relatesto a new and improved sewing cabinet.

The principal object of my inventio-n is to provide a sewing cabinetproviding ample storage 5 space for thread, buttons, needles, etc.,within a comparatively compact cabinet, the arrangement being such thatthe user can get at any of the materials quickly and easily.

A salient feature of the cabinet of my invention is the provision of arotary rack demountably supported in the cabinet and having a plurality`of spindles thereon adapted to receive spools of thread or yarn, therack being rotatable about a horizontal axis so as to bring any seleotedspindle quickly into position at the open front of the cabinet, so thatthe operatorcan remove thread from a spool or take a spool oil or put aspool on the spindle. A special feature in this connection is themounting of the rack so that the ends of the spindles are disposednormally in closely spaced relation to a partition wall in the cabinetto keep the spools in place thereon, there being one point at whichspools may be placed `on or removed from the spindles through a cut-outportion of the partition wall. Still another` feature in this connectionis the provision of spring means for holding the rack `againstdisplacement from operative position in' the cabinet, said means servingalso to exert a frictional drag uponthe rotation of the rack, althoughpermitting the rack to be turned easily from one selected position toanother.

Another important feature of my invention is the provision of pivotedtrays disposed in superimposed relation in a compartment in the cabinethaving a single elongated pivot screw passing through thetwo trays andinto a supporting leg onthe cabinet, the two trays having the outer endsthereof cut on an arc with the screw as a center so as to permitswinging the trays into and out of a rectangular space in the cabinet. I"Another important feature of my invention is the provision of animproved thread `cutter in the form of a blade pressed into thesoft Woodof a `partition wall adjacent the `spool supportingrack, so thatthe usercan quickly cut off any desired length of thread oryarn, without the useof scissors.`

Theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig 1is a perspective view of a sewing cabinet made in accordance with myinvention, showing the door thereof opened so as to reveal the spoolsupporting rack andthe swingable trays there- 5g; beneath, aswell as thenovel thread cutter, one

1, 193s, serial No. 227,889

of thetrays being indicated in dotted lines an opened position, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections taken approximately on the lines 2-2 and 3-3of` Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the door beingshownpartition wall 8 extends from the open front of the cabinet backto alongitudinal partition wall `I0 `disposed in spaced parallel relation tothe rear wall II of the cabinet. The rear compartment I2 thusprovidedhas a separate smaller door I3 hinged as at I4 to swing downwardly inopening, so that a convenient place is provided for storing work andmaterials. Additional storage space is provided in the open frontsection to the right of the partition wa1l9, where, as indicated, avertical partition wall I5 is provided together with a shelf I6,affording spaces to store various sized articles handily. Short legs I'Iproject downwardly from the four corners of the cabinet for supportthereof in elevated relation to the top ofthe table or other support onwhich `the cabinet may be placed. A handle I8 at the cen` ter of the topof the cabinet permitsone to lift the cabinet and carry it from oneplace to another readily. It will be understood that when the doors 6and I3 are closed, suitable catches,

such as the one shown at I9, will serve to lock the same releasably inclosed position, so that there will be no danger of either of the doorsopening accidentally.

In accordance with one of the principalobjects I of my invention, Iprovide a rack 2I.I` demountably and rotatably supported in thecompartment to the left of the partition wall 9, adapted to support afull set of spools of thread, includingall that a `housewife isordinarily accustomed to keep on hand, or more. The rack 2U comprises acentral mandrel 2l carrying a disk 22 near one end thereof that isequipped with a plurality of spindles 23 in circumferentially spacedrelation near the periphery thereof and substantially parallel with themandrel 2|. The spindles are of a size adapted to be slipped easilythrough the center holes in the spools, and each spindle is adapted tosupport six or more spools thereon. The rack` herein disclosed has sevenspindles thereon, `so that there is ample storage space in the presentcabinet for whatever thread a housewife is apt to use. Two hangers 24and 25 are provided adjacent opposite ends of the rack 20, one on theinner side of the end wall of the cabinet and the other on the partitionwall 9, and these provide semi-circular bearings 26 and 21 into whichthe opposite ends of the mandrel 2| are adapted to be entered for rotarysupport of the rack. A leaf spring 28 carried on the top wall of thecabinet rides onthe periphery of the disk 22, asclearly appears in Fig.2, and serves to keep the mandrel 2| properly engaged in the bearings 26and 21, while at the same time acting asa frictional shoe to resistturning of the rack. Ther resistance to turning is just enough to holdthe rack in an adjusted position, but not enough to interfere with theeasy turning of the rack` from one position to another. The springpressure is also light enough so that one can without difiiculty removeand replace the rack, as, for example, when the spools are to be placedthereon or if a numberv of spools are toV be removed at a time andothers substituted. The cabinet is so designed, as I will now describe,to enable one to remove or replace a single spool conveniently withoutremoving the rack.

l It will be noticed that the partition wall ii has a substantiallysemi-circular cut-out portion 29,

solocated withA respect to the bearings 23 and 2l and the vrack 2@ thatany one of the spindles 23 carrying the spools, like that shown at s inFig. 3, is adapted to be brought into register with substantially thecenter of this cut-out portion, to permit slipping a spool oif the endof the spindle and replacing the same.v The spindles 23 terminate'insuch closely spaced relation to the partition wall 9 that the spoolswill not slip off the ends thereof at any other part in the rotation of.the rack. The hanger 25, it will be noticed, is made small enough tolie wholly inside the circle of spools on the spindles 23, so that therewill be no interference with the rotation oi the rack.

There is another small cut-out portion 311 on the front edge of thepartition 9 above the cut.

out portion 29, and a third cutter blade 3l is driven into the softwood'of the partition wall 9 leaving its sharp edge exposed in thecut-out portion 30. This blade makes it very convenient for thehousewife to pull out the desired length of thread olf a spool and cutit without having to look around forand pick up scissors to do the job.'Ihe proximity of the thread cutter to the :rack of spools is obviouslyof advantage because there will be only a short loose end left aftercutting the thread, which can bereadily wound back upon ythe spool.

Two trays 32 and 33 having pockets provided therein for the convenientstoragek of buttons, needles, and other small articles generallyv kept`in sewing cabinets, are mounted in superimposed relation in thecompartment to the left of the partition wall 9 Vunder the rack 20 andare swingable outwardly from said compartment on the screw 34 as anaxis. This screw is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. It has an elongatedsmooth shank which has a working fit in holes 35 andt in the trays 32and 33, respectively, and its threaded end extends down into the leg Il'therebeneath, whereby to provide the desired rigidity for the screw 34and avoid likelihood of its becoming wabbly in service. The upper tray32 is cut away on the outside, as at 3l, and the lower tray 33 is cutaway on the inside, as at 38, to provide a finger-tip grip 33 permittingone to swing out the lower tray 33 without disturbing the upper tray.The lower tray is shown swung out in Fig. 1 in dotted lines, revealingthe arcuate form of the end 40 remote from the screw 34. Both trays havetheir ends struck on arcs with, the screw 34 as a center so as to permitswinging the trays with respect to the partition wall 9.

In passing, attention is called to the tapered plug 4l, elongated strip42, strap 43, and nail 44 provided on the inside of the door 6. The plug4l and strip 42 ,are of cork or other suitable material, the plugforming a convenient support for thimble and the strip providing aconvenient pin cushion, which in the closed position of the door, asclearly appears in Fig. 3, occupies a position in the cut-out portion29, so that there is no interference with the closing of the door 6. Apair of scissors may be suspended on the nail 44 and engaged in thestrap 43.

It should be clear from the foregoing description that I have provided asewing cabinet combining many handy features. The housewife finds inthis cabinet a place for everything and the things can be stored so thatthere is n o danger of their becoming disarranged. Spools of thread canbe placed on the rack in whatever arrangement thehousewife prefers, andshe never has any dirculty in finding a particular spool when she wantssome special thread for a given job. She can readily draw out the amountof thread wanted and can cut it off quickly and re-Wind the loose end onthe spool. Then, too, an empty spool can be removed quickly and replacedwith a fresh one without disturbing the rest of the spools.

The present cabinet is moreover of lig-ht weight and economicalconstruction, and despite its small size provides adequate storage spacefor such odds and ends of sewing material which the average housewifeexpects to keep in a sew.- ing cabinet. l

The foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objectsand advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn witha view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

l. In a sewing cabinet having a vertical partition wall therein inspaced parallel relation to another wall, and a closure for said cabinetadapted to lie in close proximity to the outer edges of said walls, arotatable spool carrier mounted between said wallsrfor rotation on-ahorizontal axis, andhorizontal spool spindles in spaced re, lation onsaid carrier having free ends lying in closely spaced relation to saidpartition wall, the latter having an outer edge portion cut away insubstantially concentric relation to the end of a spindle of saidcarrier substantially as and for the purpose described.

'2. In a sewing cabinet having a rwall therein in spaced parallelrelation to another wall, a spool carrier Ycomprising a mandrel, a diskconcentrically mounted on one end portion thereof,l

and a plurality of spool supporting spindles projecting from the disk incircumferentially spaced relation and substantially parallel to themandrel, a pair of concentric substantially semi-circular bearingsonsaid walls adapted detachably to receive the ends of said mandrel forrotary support of the spool carrier in the cabinet, and a leaf springsupported in spaced relation to one of said bearings and rarranged tofrictionally engage the periphery of said disk to hold the carriermandrel hyieldingly in assembled position 3. In a sewing cabinet havinga wall therein in spaced parallel relation to another wall, a

`spool carrier comprising a mandrel, a disk con` centrically mounted onone end portion thereof,"

`and a plurality of spool supporting spindles projecting from the diskincircumferentially spaced relationand substantially parallel to theman1v drel, a pair of concentric bearings on said walls toreceive theends of said mandrel for rotary supv,port ofthe spool carrier in thecabinet, and a leaf spring supported in spacedrelation toone of saidbearingsand arranged to frictionally engage the periphery of said diskto resist rotation of said carrier.

4. In a sewing cabinet,'the combination of a pair of spaced parallelwalls, and a closure movable to and from a position close tothe outeredges of said walls, a spool carrier rotatably mounted between saidwalls having circumferentially spaced spool supporting spindles thereononwhich spools are adapted to be slidably y supported by entry of thespindles through center holes in the spools, said spindles terminatingin closely spaced relation to one of said walls, and said wall having asemi-circular notch in the edge thereof to permit removal of spools fromand placingof spools on the spindles by passage through the notchwhen aspindle, is in register therewith, and said `closure having' meansproviding `a projection on the inner side thereof which in the closedposition of said closure projects into said notch. l

5. In asewing` cabinet having spaced parallel vertical walls, a supportpivoted for'movement between said walls and carrying a plurality ofhorizontal spindles in substantially parallel relation adapted toreceive spools by` entry through the center holes therein, the spindlesbeing in spaced relation to the pivotal axis, one of said `walls servingto block the removal or displacement of spools from the ends of thespindles until the spindles are moved by movement of the sup port to aforward position relative to the wall last named, so that the spools maybe moved 01T the spindles past the frontedge of `said wall.

A. IVAR EKSTROM.

